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David Clark, of Mainstay Group, is the new Chairman of the Institute of Residential Property Management (IRPM). He took over in October from Martin Rochfort who remains as immediate past chair. “I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to take on this important role and energised by the exciting projects that we have in the pipeline,” said David, who has been involved with IRPM since its inception in 2001. “I am pleased that I will have the support of the outgoing Chairman Martin who has done s

Hyperoptic has added Newcastle, Sheffield, Birmingham and Nottingham to the list of cities where it provides 1,000Mbps broadband to homes. The company now provides gigabit broadband to 12 cities in the UK, the others being London, Manchester, Cardiff, Bristol, Liverpool, Leeds, Glasgow and Reading, and the service will soon reach more than 75,000 homes spanning 480 sites, with a target of half a million homes by 2018. All cities were chosen by demand and number of residential developments. Hyperoptic wo

The Crabtree Property Group has achieved its ambitious annual charity fundraising target three months ahead of schedule. At the end of last year the firm decided to mark its 30th anniversary by setting itself a £30,000 fundraising target for The Lullaby Trust, which provides specialist support for bereaved families, promotes expert advice on safer baby sleep and raises awareness on sudden infant death. Three key events were held during the year: a run, a walk and a jump, while staff, their friends and f

Every week there seems to be a new article in the media with the two words we all fear - carbon monoxide …. Very effective campaigns driven by The HSE, Gas Safe and other industry bodies have raised awareness of the danger, but to a degree this has been quite rightly focused on the Domestic Sector which is often unregulated, hence targeting owner occupiers with a campaign highlighting the dangers. What is Carbon monoxide? Carbon monoxide is a sneaky silent killer - it’s colourless, you can’t smell it an

Date: Monday 17th November 2014  Time: 12:00pm  This webinar will consider the recent court of appeal decision in Philips v Francis and its impact on major works in blocks of flats for residents, landlords and leaseholders.  This webinar is free for News on the Block and LVT Subscribers.  Non Subscriber rate is £35 plus VAT.  To register for this webinar please click here.

We often find when taking over managements of block of flats, that a nice cosy arrangement exists between the neighbours, whereby all service charges are paid by monthly instalments, often contrary to the terms of the lease that has been agreed and often causes more problems than it solves. Service charge payment dates are clearly set out in each lease. Not only the date on which the service charge should be demanded but also when it should be paid and importantly, what actions are available should servi

​The court of appeal has overturned the decision of the High Court in Philips v Francis. For the last two years there has been considerable anxiety amongst landlords, property managers and leaseholders regarding the interpretation of the meaning of 'qualifying works'. Today's ruling provides much needed clarity to the position and will be welcomed by all those involved in major works across the industry.  Douglas Rhodes, property litigation senior associate at law firm Trowers & Hamlins, commented: ​"​

Crabtree Law announced the launch of Leaseology on Thursday 30th October– an independent guidance website with the overarching objective to clear up many of the common misunderstandings about owning a leasehold property or a freehold interest anywhere in the UK. Leaseology is the study of leases and leasehold property law including the approach to the legislation, case-law and legal procedures. Examples include extending a lease, obtaining management of a leasehold block and purchasing freehold interests

Two useful general points arise in the recent case of Nogueira v Westminster City Council [2014]. The Upper Tribunal: 1 Reviews the First-tier Tribunal’s powers to make a global deduction in respect of the costs of works which have not been carried out to a reasonable standard, and 2 Considers whether the First-tier Tribunal has the power to accept or impose undertakings. The First-tier Tribunal was faced with a large number of allegations of defects in the quality of the works both inside and outside

People often ask what is realistic in terms of managing agents’ fees and if the saying “you pay for what you get” is really true? It’s like saying “eating an apple a day keeps the doctor away”; factually it’s not correct but it makes society feel better about eating one of their five a day. In the case for managing agents’ fees the opening phrase can be seen simply as a justification that a higher fee proposal represents a better service. Of course there are exceptions, but across the board there does n

One of the most common points of disagreements between landlords and tenants concerns the imposition of charges for major works. The merits of the arguments on either side will, of course, vary from case to case. There is one area though, in which most impartial observers would tend to agree with the tenant’s point of view by default: historic neglect. Take the following scenario as an example. A large, detached, Victorian mansion house is converted into a number of separate flats, which are let on long

A wise man once said, “service charge disputes are the route to all misery”. You might ask why is this relevant if you are extending your lease - after all what does it matter how the building is managed? Leasehold specialists are often asked questions like “I want to extend my lease, but I don’t have to worry about all the unpaid service charges, do I?” Well, unfortunately, yes you will. At completion of the new lease the landlord can ask for all and any arrears to be paid off and in fact the landlord